Competition Opportunity- But Read the Terms and Conditions...

First day of my resolution to write a minimum number of words each week- I should add I'm not counting my blog posts in that figure, otherwise I would manage my target every Monday
morning... :-)

I was having a quick browse on Twitter this morning and saw details of a new competition 'Racy Reads' on ITV's 'Lorraine'. ITV  and Mills and Boon are running a competition for new writing talent, with the winner having their book published, and a trip to the USA to meet Jackie Collins...

Sounds great doesn't it?

I'm all in favour of encouraging new talent with competitions, but however attractive it seems on the surface ALWAYS READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

First to the basics. The competition runs from today, the 14th January, and closes at 12pm on the 28th January.

To start with you need to submit the first 1,000 words of your 'Racy Reads' novel. It can be done online, but - "Please note that an entry of 50 words or more over or under the 1000 word limit may be disqualified at the discretion of the producers."

The really important thing to note, is that "Entrants must be able to complete the novel with a 50,000 minimum word count by 5 June 2013 at the latest."

You can read about the selection criteria (among other elements ) in the terms and conditions here.

From the shortlist, up to ten finalists will be selected and they will need to attend a London location to meet a new final judging panel:

 "to present their submission, explain their storyline for a full novel should they be the winner and talk through the plot of their book, where it is heading and what will happen to the characters."

With me so far...

There will be a winner and two runners-up. The winning story will be available from Monday 15 July 2013 to Thursday 25 July 2013. Along with that comes six copies of their book and a £1,000 advance payment.
Plus there's " a three-night trip for the winner and a companion to Los Angeles, USA to have lunch with Jackie Collins. The lunch will be filmed for and broadcast on the programme."

Now to the nitty gritty general terms. And this is where I was really disappointed that they felt it necessary to include such terms. Hence my warning earlier on.

(The Promoter in this case is ITV, while Mills and Boon are the Prize Provider.)

"By making an entry and participating in this competition, you grant the Promoter permission to use the entry in any way it wants in relation to the Promotion. This means that, in relation to the Promotion, the Promoter can use, edit, reproduce, record, modify, translate, distribute, play, perform, broadcast, make available and display your entry and/or participation (or part thereof) and/or prepare derivative works of the entry and/or participation (without prejudice to any rights acquired by the Prize Provider) by any medium or method whether now known or later developed, including without limitation on the website or any other website in its sole discretion anywhere in the world. The Promoter may permit third parties to use the entry. You acknowledge that (unless you win the Prize) you will not receive any fee or royalty payment from the Promoter, the Prize Provider or any third party for the consents and grants given by you in relation to your entry and/or participation."

And a little further down; " You agree to waive any moral rights that may exist in relation to your entry and/or participation."

Sadly there will be unwary writers who will not understand that those terms mean they are giving up all their rights to that submission by entering.

Yes, this competition is a great opportunity, but remember only the winner gets paid for their hard work.

Yes, you are only giving up those 1,000 words by entering, but if your book is almost complete and you then give away those first 1,000 words, you're giving yourself an unnecessary headache.

If your story is good enough for Mills and Boon, then go through the normal submission process. I've been told by writers who know personally, that they are encouraging to potential authors.

On their website you can find information for aspiring M&B authors, here and also the submission details.

If you enter this competition with your eyes open to all the terms and conditions, then I do sincerely wish you good luck.

I'm Back...Just.

Hello everyone, I'm finally feeling near normal and my head is clearer, so I can now concentrate to write and hopefully make sense...

I've done quite a bit of reading over the last two weeks, and have to say that my kobo e-reader has been a wonderful companion- thank goodness for the adjustable font size.

If you have your e-book/s on Smashwords then you'll also be likely to find it on the Kobo bookstore- so don't forget to tell your potential readers about it.
Yes, it will cost more than buying as a kindle book, but there are a lot of readers who don't have a Kindle- they want to avoid Amazon, but may instead have a Kobo, Sony or Nook e-reader, or one of the numerous types of tablet devices that you can read e-books on.

With e-books the first few chapters in a preview can make the difference in whether the  book becomes a purchase, or a potential reader is put off for ever.

Basically it's just like your first three chapters having to impress an editor or agent to make them want to read the rest of your manuscript...

I may have said this before, but I've found some of the previews I've downloaded sadly lacking, compared to others. And the lacking ones were not always the self-published e-books.

If the accompanying blurb (whatever the fiction genre) interests me, then I'll download the preview; if I like that, then I'll buy the book. Sadly I've found, in a dozen books so far this month, the blurb promised much, but the writing wasn't engaging- to me personally.

So here's a few of my recent purchases after reading the previews: 'The Real Katie Lavender' by Erica James; 'A Winter's Tale' by Trisha Ashley (I've bought a few of her previous Christmas tales and enjoyed them, but this was a little different ); and an Agatha Christie, Miss Marple short story, 'Strange Jest'.

I've also bought and read a few short stories and novellas by some of my favourite romance authors, and story collections by other blogging writers, and this is where e-books do come into their own.

Short stories, or collections of short stories, and novellas- which wouldn't have been considered by a print publisher unless you were a 'name', are now able to reach a wider (and appreciative) audience via e-books.

Writer Maggie Cobbett has just released her first collection of short stories on the theme of murder with a humorous edge- 'Anyone for Murder And Other Crime Stories' on Kindle. One reviewer said they were the sort of stories you could read in 5-8 minutes when you didn't have time for a full chapter of a book, and they do have a 'twist in the tale'.

Digital has giving writers opportunities that previously they could only dream about.

No, it isn't easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is...